Method and apparatus for making coils



P. w. LEHMAN' ET AL ,049,587

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING COILS I '7 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 4, 1936.

Filed Jan. 15, 1935 w w a w #4 INVENTORS. PAUL M LEHMAN GEORGEE KLE w 0/ BY ATRNEY.

1936. P. w. LEHMAN ET AL 2,049,587

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING COILS Filed Jan. 15, 1935 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TORS.

Fr Q PAUL w LEHMAN /z?=j4a I I If E Aug. 4, 1936. P. w. LEHMAN' ET AL 9,5

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING COILS Filed Jan. 15, 1955 '7 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS. PAUL w. LEHMAN GEORGE E W] LE r ATTO Y.

Aug. 4, 1935. P. w. LEHA/IAN ET AL 2,049,587

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING COILS Filed Jan. 15, 1935 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VEN TORS. PAUL I4]. LEHMAN I GEORGE F. B 05.

ATT NEY.

' Aug. 4, 1936. P. w. LEHMAN ET AL 2,049,587

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING COILS Filed Jan. 15, 1935 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 T F'i F 3 M? 57 m g: w 4, h 77 w W i Ml. \Z g (77 67 A 4 Z i 7/ W A jg v 7/ 7! I '72 v 7 E. 12 i i; 4-

7" 5/ INVEN TORS.

ms" g PAUL w LEI-[MAN 77 7 I GEORGE F. wz I 7/ Kw A 72 ATTORN Y.

Aug. 4, 1936.

P. w. LEHMAN ET'AL 7 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING COILS I Filed Jan. 15, 1935 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTORS. PAUL M LEHIVAN GEORGE E W! $11. By W ATTO EY.

3 i P. w. LEHMAN ET AL 2,049,587 I METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING COILS Filed Jan. 15, 1935 isneets-sneet 7 PAUL 14 LEHMAN GEORGE E WI INVENTORSL ATTOH EY.

Patented Aug. 4, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING COILS.

Application January 15, 1935, Serial No. 1,892

19 Claims.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for making coils having a plurality of convolutions of a flexible element, and particularly to such method and apparatus for making the beads of the type disclqsedsin U. 8'. Patent No.

1,981,893 for Pneumatic tires. Generally the invention relates toa method and apparatus for coiling a flexible element or strand, such as a wire, and includes means for performing the operations of cutting the element after the desired number of convolutions have been wound on a winding 7 head and ejecting-the coils from the head during its continuous rotation.

An example of the utilization of this invention is found in the manufacture of tire beads for pneumatic tires, in which a wire is coated with a tacky layer of unvulcanized rubber and subsequently wound into an annulus comprising a predetermined number of convolutions of wire. The unvulcanized coating of rubber causes adjacent convolutions of the wire to adhere to one another so that a completed bead annulus forms in effect a unitary, endless cable.

In orderv to manufacture an annulus of this type, the prior practice included a-rotatable head on which single or multiple strand wire is wound into the coil or annulus. When a proper number 35 pletion of each coil produces a. strain upon the mechanism and greatly reduces the rate of production of the coils.

In accordance with the present invention the winding head operates continuou ly and thereby eliminates the strain and the loss of time caused by the intermittent starting and stopping of the winding head. The continuous operation results in a reduction in thec'ost of the maintenance of the machine and an increase in the rate of production of coils. Furthermore smoother and quieter operation is obtained and the wire is wound witha more uniform tension. Also, as

this machine is continuous it requires no storage.

devices, such as a festoon mechanism, for supplying the wire to the forming head. These and other objects and advantages will appear more fully in the following detailed description, when considered in connection with the accompanying 55 drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of one form of an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view. of the machine shown in Fig. 1 in which the winding head is shown broken off and the position of same is shown in dot and 5 dash lines;

Fig. 3 is a plan view in section taken along lines 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of the winding head; 10

Fig. 5 is a rear elevational view of the winding head partly in section, taken along the lines 55 of Fig. 1;

' Fig. 6 is a cross section of the winding head taken along lines 66 of Fig. 4; 15

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along lines 'l! of Fig. 1 showing the intermittent actuating mechanism for the coil supporting screw conveyor and wire cutting mechanisms;

Figs. 8 and 9 are, respectively, cross sectional views of a portion of the mechanism for intermittently actuating the coil supporting screw conveyor and wire cutting mechanisms, taken along the lines 8-8 and. 99, respectively,-in Fig. 7;

Fig. 10 is a view of the wire cutting mechanism, taken along the directional lines Ill-l0 oi Fig. 4;

Fig. 11 is a vertical sectional view taken on the lines Il-ll of Fig. 1;

Fig. 12 is a rear elevational view of a portion of one end of the machine; 30

Fig. 13 is a side elevational view of the part shown in Fig. 12;

Fig. 14 is' a diagrammatic front'end elevational view, showing the relation of the wire supplying mechanism to the machine;

Fig. 15 shows a completed coil such as is employed for tire beads; I

Fig. 16 is a perspective view showing the wire terminating ends of the bead annulus; and

Fig.17 is a perspective view of a portion of the completed and taped bead annulus; and

Figs. 18 to 25 inclusive show side elevational views of the coil supporting screw conveyors, and progressive positions of the coils formed thereon.

Driving mechanism Referring to Figs. 1 and.2, the "embodiment of our invention comprises a main frame 26 which houses driving and timing mechanism for cooperating with a winding head 21. A main drive shaft 28, horizontally disposed and rotatable in bearings 29 and 30, is driven continuously during the operation of the machine by means of an electric motor 3|. Pulleys 32 and 33 connected by belts 34 transmit movement from the motor 3| to the shaft 28.

Winding head Referring to Figs. 1 and 14, the Winding head 21 is provided with a plurality of coil forming and supporting conveyor screws 35 which form points on a winding circle upon which a strand of material, such as a wire W shown in dot and dash lines in Figs. 1 and 14 may be wound. The conveyor screws 35 are provided with spiral grooves 36 terminating at their inner end in a coil forming or winding groove 31 and at their outer end in a retaining depression 31. As the head '21 rotates, the wire W is wound in a coil in the grooves 31 on the winding circle at the position C and after a predetermined number of convolutions of the wire have been formed in a coil, the screw conveyors 35 are rotated and the coil in the position C is shifted to the retaining depression 31' at an outer position C by the screw action of the spiral grooves 36. During the continued rotation of the head 21, the wire W is trained back into the forming rooves 31 at the position C and successive coils are formed on the conveyor screws 35 in that position. As each coil is formed, the trailing wire W (Fig. 10) connecting the coils C' is severed and the conveyor screws 35 are intermittently rotated to discharge the coil in the position C and shift the coil from the position C to the position C;

Referring in particular to Figs. 6 and 4, the winding head 21 comprises a hub 38 rigidly attached to the shaft 28, and carrying a flange 39 which forms the principal base of the winding mechanism. Attached to the flange 39 is a disc 48 containing a plurality of radial slots 4|. A rim 42 joins the outer margin of the disc 48 so as to provide a rigid assembly. A carrier 43 is slidable within each of the radial slots 4| and contains a shaft 45 rotatable therein. Each shaft 45 includes at its face extremity a socket 46 into which a coil supporting screw conveyor 35 is secured. In order to retain the carriers 43 in a definite radial position in the slots 4|, means are provided for adjustably anchoring the carriers 43 to a ring 41 which is secured to the flange 39 by means of cap screws 48.

The carriers 43. are adjustable radially in the slots 4| in order to change the diameter of the winding circle formed by the conveyor screws 35 and adapt the head 21 for producing coils of different diameters. The radial adjustment of the carriers 43 is effected simultaneously by the manual rotation of a shaft 49 rotatably mounted in bearings 58 and 5| on ring 41. Each end of the shaft 49 has a bevel gear 52 secured thereto which intermeshes with one of a plurality of intermeshing bevel gears 53. The bevel gears 53 are radially disposed within a recess in the ring 41, and each is provided with a threaded bore which cooperates with one of a plurality of radial threaded rods 54 which extend with clearance through the ring 41. The outer ends of the threaded rods 54 are attached rigidly to the carriers 43. -As each adjacent bevel gear 53 rotates in opposite directions, these gears are alternately provided with right and left hand threads and the rods 54 are correspondingly threaded so that upon the rotation of the shaft 49 the carriers 43 will move inwardly and outwardly in the same direction and the winding circle formed by the conveyors 35 will be adjusted to the desired diameter.

Referring to Fig. 6, as the winding head 21 is rotated, the coil supporting conveyor screws 35 are intermittently rotated by miter gears 55 secured to shafts 45 and which mesh with miter gears 56 slidably keyed to radial shafts 51. The outer ends of the shafts 51 are supported by bearings 58 extending from the carriers 63, while the lower ends of these shafts are supported by bearings inthe hub 38.

In orden that all of the radial shafts 51 will rotate simultaneously, they are joined together by intermeshing bevel gears 59 (Fig. 5) keyed to the shafts 51 and axially retained within a recess 68 in the flange 39. As the intermeshing gears 59 will cause the shafts 51 to rotate alternately in opposite directions, the miter gears 56 are alternately positioned on diametrically opposite sides of the miter ears 55 so that all of the conveyor screws 35 will be rotated simultaneously in the same direction.

A driven worm 6| (Figs. 5 and 6) keyed at the radially inward end of one of the shafts 51 engages with a drive worm 62-afiixed to a shaft 63 which is supported at one end by an arm 64 (Fig. 7) extending from the winding head hub 38 and at the opposite end by the flange 39 projecting from the, hub 38. The drive worm 62 also meshes with a second driven worm 65 (Fig, 5) keyed to another shaft 51 in order to better distribute the driving movements of the bevel gears 59.

During the rotation of the winding head 21 in the direction indicated by the arrow A in 2' the drive worm 62 and its associated mechanism including the conveyor screws 35 are intermittently rotated by a roller 66 and a cam arm 61 which cooperate with one another as shown by the dot and dash lines. The cam arm 61 is keyed to a shaft 68 oscillatably mounted in the frame 26 and is intermittently operated by a mechanism to be described which moves thecam arm 61 into and out of the path of rotation of the roller 66.

The roller 66 is mounted on a pin 69 in an arm 18 oscillatably mounted on the drive worm shaft 63. The hub 1| (Fig. 8) of the roller arm 18 is provided with ratchet teeth 12 which cooperate with corresponding teeth 13 on the hub 14 of the drive worm 62. The arm 18 is rotated to its normal or inactive position and the teeth 12 and 13 are normally held in engagement with one another by a coil spring 15 contained in a. recess in the hub 1| of the arm. One end of the spring 15 is secured to the hub 1| and the other end of the spring 15 is secured to the arm 64 of the hub 38. The roller arm 18 is held in its normal position against the rotating action of the spring 15 by a resilient stop 16 (Fig. 6) on the-hub 38 cooperating with an arm 11 on the roller arm 18.

When the-roller arm 18 is moved away from its normal position by the cam arm '61 the ratchet teeth on the roller arm 18 and the hub 14 of the drive worm 62 being in engagement, the worm is rotated through a suflicient angle torotate the conveyor screws 35 and preferably in the present embodiment the conveyor screws 35 are rotated through a complete revolution.

When the roller 66 runs off the end of the cam arm 61, the roller arm 18 is returned to its normal position by the spring 15 and the drive worm 62 is'retained in its position by a spring pressed ball detent 18 which cooperates with equally spaced recesses 19 in the hub 14 of the drive worm 62, one of which falls opposite the ball detent 18 at the end of travel of the drive worm 82 each time it is actuated. The ball 18 is retained in a housing 88 fixed to the winding head lines a wound coil is shown in its shifted position C and the feed wire W extending from the shifted coil has been directed back into the forming grooves 31 in the winding position C. For the purpose of leading the wire from the position 0' to the position C, a bell crank lever 82 is pivoted on a conveyor screw 35a and is pressed by a spring 83 towards the position indicated by dot and dash lines. The lever 82 is provided with an arm 84 which extends into the spiral depression 38 (Fig.

20) and with an arm 85 which projects upwardly and forwardly towards the front of the head 21. When the coil is shifted into the position C it contacts with the arm 84 and moves it from the dot and dash position to the full line position and the other arm 85 is extended over the spiral depression 38. The head 21 being rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow A, the feed wire W contacts with the overhanging arm 85 and is deflected thereby towards the position C and is directed between two pairs of projections 88 on a conveyor screw 35b and then by a projection 81 on a conveyor screw 35c back into the winding 0 position C.

After the coil has been wound in the position '0 and before it is shifted to the position C, the

wire W connecting the .two coils issevered by a knife 88 which is projected between the projections 88 on the conveyor screw 35b by a mechanism shown particularly in Figs. 5, 6, 7', 9 and 10.

A shaft 89 (Fig. 6) extends from a bearing at the hub 38 radially outward to a bearing in an extension bracket 98 forming a part of a special is attached to the extension member 98 of carrier 9| so as to cover and retain the cam 92 and link 93 in their respective positions. Upon a complete rotation of the shaft 89, a reciprocal movement of the knife 88 is-etfected by the cam 92 cooperating with the link 93.

At the radially inward end of the shaft 89 (Figs. and'6) a driven worm 98 is keyed. This worm cooperates with a drive worm 99 (Fig. 7) which is rotatable about a shaft I88 supported at one end by an arm I8I extending from and forming a part of the hub 38. The opposite end of the shaft I88 passes through and is supported by the flange-39.

The'mechanism for operating the drive worm 99 of the wire cutting mechanism is substantially similar to the mechanism for rotating the screw conveyors 35. Referring to Figs. 6, 7 and 9, briefly, the mechanism comprises a roller I82 adapted to cooperate with the cam arm 81. The roller I82 is mounted on an arm I83 on the shaft I88 and is adapted to actuatethe drive worm 99 through the ratchet teeth I84 and spring I85 on the arm I83. A spring pressed ball detent I88 in a housing I81 on the winding head hub 38 is adapted to retain the drive worm 99 in the posi- 5 tion moved by the ratchet teeth I84. An arm I88 on the roller arm I83 strikes against a resillent stop I89 on the hub 38 to hold the roller I82 in its normal position against the action of the spring I85.

Timing mechanism for the coil shifting and wire cutting mechanisms The intermittent movement of the coil shifting and wire cutting mechanisms is controlled by the cam arm (Fig 7) operated by the shaft 88 on which the cam arm 81 is mounted and which in turn is operated by a cam II8 (Fig. 11) located at the opposite end of the shaft 88 and rotatably mounted on the main drive shaft". The'cam H8 is actuated by a gear I II keyed to the shaft 28 and which meshes with an idler gear II2 rotatable about a pin II3 extending from an arm H4 'in the form of-a plate riding on the shaft 28. A collar II5 attached to the shaft 28 operates to retain the arm H4 in its position adjacent to thegear III. The opposite end of the arm I I4 has a projection II 8 extending therefrom which engages with a bracket II1 forming a part of the main frame 28. The purpose of the arm I I4 is to a'ct'merely as a support for the idler gear II2 which transmits movement from the gear III to an internal gear 8 attached to the cam II8 which is rotatable about'the shaft 28, and is restrained'from axial movement by 85 means of a retaining-collar II9 (Fig. 1) attached to the shaft 28.

Also associated with the shaft 28 is a worm pinion I28 (Figs. 1-12-13) driven from the rear end of the shaft 28 and which cooperates with a worm gear I2I for driving an auxiliary shaft I22 disposed at right angles to the shaft 28. The auxiliary shaft I22 is supported by bearings I23 and I24 attached to the main frame 28, and drives a sprocket I25 carrying a timing chain I28. 45 A cam I21 forms one of the links of the timing chain I28.

A second shaft 128 parallel to the shaft I22 carries an arm I29 and roller I38 for engagement with the timing chain cam I21. An arm I3I extends at right angular relation from the arm I29, and is provided with a bifurcated end 1 which pivotally engages with a rod I32 slidable in bearings I33, I34 and I secured to the upper part of the main frame 28. The cam I21 upon striking the roller I38 produces axial movement of the rod I32 'The axial movement in turn carries a cam roller I38 (Fig. 11) in and out of position for engagement with the cam- II8. The cam roller' I38 is rotatable about a 60 pin I31 secured to one end of an-arm I38 pivoted on the rod I32. Collars I39 fixed to the rod I32 (Fig. 2) restrain axial movement of the arm I38 relative to the rod I32. A bracket I48 (Fig. 11) extending from the arm I38 carries a. wheel HI 6 -movable along a track I42 forming a. part of the tains the cam roller I36 out of alignment with the cam I I0 so that it cannot be engaged thereby.

A second cam roller I65 in the same plane as a the cam H0 is positioned in spaced relation thereto, and is rotatable about a pin I46 extending from an arm I41 keyed to the shaft 68 pivotally rotatable in a bearing I48 (Fig. 1) forming a part of the frame 26. The arm I61 is provided with a projection I66 (Figs. 11 and 12) which overhangs and engages the top of bar I5I attached to the frame 26 and limits the downward movement of the cam roller I45. Thus, a clearance is provided so that the cam roller I36 may be brought into position between the cam roller I65 and the cut away portion of the cam H0; and as the cam IIO rotates the cam roller I36 moves upward, contacting with the cam roller I46 and causing pivotal movement of the shaft 68 which moves the cam arm 61 (Fig. 7) into and out of the path of rotation of the rollers 66 and I02 at the desired time and thereby produces the intermittent operation of the wire cutting and coil shifting mechanisms.

It is sometimes desirable to stop rotation of the machine quickly which may be done by a manually operated brake mechanism which comprises a drum I52 (Figs. 1, 2 and 3) attached to shaft 28, and a brake band I53 attached at one end to a pin I54 extending from the frame 26. The band I53 extends partially around the drum I52, and its opposite end is connected with a rod I55 joining with the foot operated pedal I56, and pivotally connected to the frame 26 through a pin I51.

Wire supplying apparatus As'shown in Figs. 1 and 14, means are provided for guiding the single strand of wire from a source of supply. to the winding head 21. This means consists of a bracket I58 attached to and extending from the main frame 26. An extension rod I59 rigidly attached to the bracket I58 supports a sheave I60 which is positioned in alignment with the forming grooves 31 of the conveyor screws 35.

In Fig. 14, a source of wire supply is shown in relative position with the winding machine. As illustrated herein the supply source is a reel I6I of rubber covered wire W, supported by a bracket frame I62. From the reel I6I the rubber covered wire W passes around a sheave I63 and under a pulley IGFsupported from a pivoted arm I65. This pivoted arm I65 may cooperate with any type of conventional braking mechanism (not shown) for the purpose of controlling the momentum of the reel I 6I according to the speed the wire W is withdrawn therefrom.

As the wire on the reel I6I has a covering of unvulcanized rubber, it is generally necessary to treat the rubber covering with a coating of lubricant such as zinc stearate in order to prevent adhesion of the rubber coating with adjacent convolutions. In the actual formation of a tire bead it is preferable that the rubber covering on the wire is joined by adhesion with adjacent convolutions of the rubber covered wire. Consequently, it is preferable to remove the coating of lubricant from the rubber covered wire W before it is wound on to the winding head. This is accomplished by passing the wire W around a sheave I66 and into a tank I61 containing a fluid such as gasoline for removing the lubricant coating on the wire. Within the tank I61 the wire W passes under a pulley I68 and upward around the sheave I68 supported by a post I10. The wire W is thus positioned in convenient relation with the sheave I60 from whence it is drawn on to the winding head 21.

Fig. 15 shows a tire bead I1I after it is ejected from the winding head 21. This'bead annulus consists merely of a number of convolutions of single strand rubber covered. wire formed into a unitary annulus by reason of adhesion of the rubber covered wire with adjacent convolutions of the wire.

As shown in Figs. 16 and 17, 8, piece of rubberized tape I12 is wrapped around a portion of the bead wire so as to hold the loose end strands of wire in group assembly with the remaining convolutions. This operation is performed manually, and is subsequent to the wire coiling opera tion.

While there is shown one method of supplying rubber covered wire to the winding head, it is to be understood that the who may be supplied to the head in various other ways; for example, the wire may be covered with a rubber compound as by means of a tuber interposed between a reel of wire and the winding head.

Operation In the operation of the machine, a single strand ofmaterial, and as illustrated herein, a rubber covered wire is brought into alignment with the winding head 21' from a source of supply such as that shown in Fig. 14. In starting the operation, the leading end of the wire W is manually guided into one of the grooves 31 (Fig. 6) of the screw conveyors 35. The end of the wire is then twisted around the screw conveyor to hold same temporarily while the winding head 21 is manually rotated, until one or more convolutions of wire are wound into the groove 31 at the position C. The winding head 21 is then continuously rotated by the motor 3I while the coils or tire beads are formed, having a pre-determined number of convolutions therein which may be controlled by the length of the timing chain I26 (Fig. 13).

During rotation of the winding head the timing chain I26 (Fig. 13) carries the cam I21 into engagement with the cam roller I30 at about the time the proper number of coils of wire are wound into the forming groove 31. Action of the cam I21 causes movement of the arm I3I, and

moves the rod I32 axially toward the head 21.

Also carried with the rod I32 is the arm I38 (Fig. 11) whichsupports the cam roller I36. The cam IIO rotates rapidly, and almost immediately engages with the cam roller I36, causing it to move upward to contact with the second cam roller I 45, thus causing a pivotal movement of the shaft 68. This places the cam arm 61 (Fig. '7) in operative position, and the continuous rotation of the winding head brings the cam roller I02 into engagement with the cam arm 61.

The mechanism associated with the cam roller I02 severs the connecting strand of bead Wire by the engagement of the cam roller I02 with the cam arm 61 which causes a complete revolution of the driven worm 98 (Figs. 5 and 6). This movement is transmitted through the shaft 89 to the eccentric cam 92 (Figs. 6 and 10). This cam 92 cooperates to produce'a reciprocal movement of the knife 88 which in turn is complementarily associated with the special forming worm 35b. The reciprocal movement of the shearing bar thus severs the strand of wire which is held between the outwardly extending lugs 86 on the conveyor screw 35b. However, during the formation of the first bead armulus the wire cutthe upstanding lugs 86 between which the conting mechanism merely goes through the motions of cutting the wire, for as yet no single strand of wire has been positioned between the lugs 86. The cam arm 61 (Fig. 7) still remains in the position as shown by the dotted lines, and cam roller 66 which is diametrically opposed to-the cam roller I82 is brought into engagement with the cam arm 61.

During the engagement of the cam roller 66 with the cam arm 61 the arm 18 is carried through a sufiicient angle of rotation to cause the conveyor screws 35 to be rotated through a complete revolution and thereby shift the bead annulus "I from the winding position C to the shifted-position C (Figs. 18 to 25), and discharge the annulus from the position C'. 'I'he'movement of the cam arm 10 is transmitted to the conveyor screws 35'through the ratchet teeth 12 cooperating with the hub 14 of the worm 62 which rotates the driven worms 6| and 65 keyed to the radially extending shafts 51 carrying the slidably mounted beveled gears 56 which cooperate with the bevel gears on the conveyor screw shafts 45. As the cam roller 66 runs off of the end of the cam arm 61 it is returned to its normal position by the spring 15 and the centrifugal force acting on the arm 10. At about this time, the cam I21 (Fig. 13) on the chain I26 passes from underneath the roller I38 and allows the spring I43 to, pull the roller I36 out of alignment with the cam III! and roller I45, The cam arm 61 then immediately moves outward, due to the weight of the cam roller I45 and arm I41 (Fig. 11) thus allowing the mechanism associated with the winding head to rotate freely until the next cycle of operation,

In Figs. 18 to 25 inclusive, are shown various stages or positions of a bead wire annulus during the cycle of operation.

As shown in Fig; 18, the conveyor screws 35 are provided with a spiral groove 36 terminating in an inner forming or winding groove 31 and an outer retaining recess 31'. The forming grooves 31 are in alignment with tlieposition C in which position, the bead annulus I1 I is wound and the retaining recess 31' is in alignment with the position C into which a bead-"an ulus may be shifted and then retained during-t e severing operation of the bead wire extending between the bead annuli in the positions C and C.

When a proper number of convolutions of head wire are wound on to the groove 31 to form an assembled bead annulus "I, the conveyor screw 35 is quickly rotated by means hereinbefore described without stopping rotation of the winding head. When the conveyor screw 35 is rotated, the bead annulus I1I is moved along the spiral path from the groove 31 tothe'recess 31'.

As shown in Fig. 19, one of the special conveyor screws 350. carries the bell crank lever 82, and in Fig. 20 the trip arm 84 which extends into the spiral depression 36 is brought into engagement with the bead annulus I1I during rotary movement of the conveyor screw 35a. The effect of the engagement of the bead annulus I1I with the trip arm 84 is to swing the bell crank lever 82 on its pivot and extend the guide arm 85 over the spiral depression 36 (Figs. 10 and 20) so that it will engage with the feedwire W extending from the completely wound bead annulus HI and the guide sheave I 60. The interposition of the guide arm 85 deflects the wire W toward the forming groove 31.

The next adjacent conveyor screw 3517 contains connecting single strand of 81 which further operates to deflect the wire W 5 into the groove 31. .JI'he winding head then continues to rotate until another bead annulus "I is about completely wound in the groove 31. The

conveyor screws now carry two bead wire annuli,

one in groove 31 and the other in recess 31 (Fig. 10 23). However, as shown in Fig. 24, the two bead annuli are connected by the strand of wire W.

As previously stated, the conveyor screw 35b complementarily associates with the knife 88, and at about this time the knife 88 is set into oper- 15 ation, and its reciprocal movement severs the v wire W. Directly thereafter the conveyor screws 35 make a complete revolution, and the bead annulus which was retained in the recess 31' is ejected axially from the winding head (Fig. 25), 20 while the bead annulus which was positioned in groove 31 moves axially outward to. assume a position in the recess 31". Thus, a single strand of head wire is being continuously'woundon to vthe'head 21 in direction of its rotation. That action has the advantage of causing the cut ends of the wire W to overlap on the circumference of the coil I1I, as shown in Fig. 16 which is desirable as it permits every convolution in the tire head to furnish the greatest degree of inextensibility.

As the tire beads are ejected from the winding head they are caught by an operator; or other means such as a hook or conveyor (not shown) may be employed to receive the beads. The operator next applies a piece of rubberized tape I12 (Fig. 16) transversely around that portion of the bead annulus wherein the ends of the wire terminate. Thus, as shown in Fig. 1'7, the tire bead 50 is completed and ready for its assembly as a component part of a pneumatic tire.

While a"pr e'ferred embodiment of this invention is described herein in reference to making coils of rubber coated wire, it will be understood that other materials may be wound into coils by the use of this invention and that modifications of this particular embodiment may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims. 60

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to protect'by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine for coiling a flexible element,

a continuously rotating winding head for con-- tinuously winding the element in close-lying convolutions to form successive coils of several convolutions, each coil on the winding head being connected by the element means for-cutting theconnecting element while extending between the 70 coils on said head, and means for successively discharging the coils from the head during its rotation.

2. In a machine for coiling a flexible element such as a wire coated with a tacky material, a 75 continuously rotating winding i'iifiz-Itil, means for successively winding coils on said head from the element in one position, means for shifting said coils in succession on said head from said winding position to a second position on said head and leading the element back to the winding position, means for severing the element connecting said coils while on said head, and means for discharging the coils from said head during the rotation of said head.

3, In a coiling machine a continuously rotating winding head, means for successively winding coils on said head from a continuous flexible element, means for shifting said coils in succes sion on said head, means for severing the connecting element between the coils after the element has been wound more than one convolution in the coil in its original position, means for actuating said severing means in response to a predetermined numberof revolutions of said winding head, and means for discharging the coils from said head during the rotation of said head.

4. In a coiling machine, a continuously rotating winding head, means for successively winding coils on said head from a continuous flexible element and successively shifting said coils from one position on said head to another, means for severing the connecting element between the coils in their original position and the coils in their first shifted position, and means for discharging the coils from said head during the rotation of said head.

5. In a coiling machine a continuously rotating winding head, means for successively winding coils on said head from a continuous flexible element, means for shifting said coils in succession on said head together with the feeding end of the element, means for directing the feeding end I of the element from the shifted position to the original position, means for severing the connecting element between the coils in their original position and the coils in their shifted position, and means for discharging said coils during the rotation of said head.

6. In a coiling machine, a rotatable winding head, a plurality of supports projecting from the face of said head and arranged in a circumferential path around the axis of said head, each 01' said supports having a slot for collectively defining a winding groove and having spiral grooves communicating with each of the slots for forming a path from the slot to the end of the support, and means for rotating the head.

'7. In a coiling machine, a rotatable winding head, a plurality of supports projecting from the face of said head and arranged in a circumferential path around the axis of said head, each of said supports having a slot for collectively defining a winding groove and having'spiral depressions communicating with each of the slots for forming a path from the slot to the end of the support, said spiral depressions in each support collectively defining a second groove, and means for rotating the head.

' 8. In. a coiling machine, a winding head, a plurality of supports projecting from the face of said head and arranged in a circumferential path around the axis of said head, each of said supports having a slot for collectively defining a winding groove and having spiral grooves communicating with each of the slots for forming a path from the slot to the end of the support, means for simultaneously adjusting each of the supports to and from the axis of the head, and means for rotating the head.

9. In a coiling machine, a winding head, a plu- I rality of supports projecting from the face of said head and arranged in a circumferential path around the axis of said head, each of said supports having a slot for collectively defining a winding groove and having spiral grooves communicating with each of the slots for forming a path from the slot to the end of the support, means for rotating the head, means for intermittently rotating said supports and thereby shift the coil from the winding groove to the ends of the supports, and means for severing the last convolution of the coil prior to intermittently rotating said supports.

10. In a coiling machine,a rotatable winding head, a plurality of conveyor screws projecting from the face of said head and arranged around the axis of said head and each having a spiral groove terminating in a circumferential winding groove adapted to receive convolutions of a flexible element, means for winding the element into a coil in said winding groove, means for periodically revolving said screws during the rotation of said head and after a predetermined number of convolutions of the element have been wound into the coil and thereby shift the coil together with the feeding end of the element alongsaid spiral groove of said screws, and means for directing the feeding end of the element back into the winding groove and continuing uninterruptedly the winding of a second coil.

11. In a coiling machine, a rotatable head, a plurality of supports projecting from the face of said head and arranged in a circumferential path around the axis of the head, each of said supports having a recess formed therein for collectively defining a winding groove adapted to receive a flexible element, means for rotating said head and winding a predetermined number of convolutions of said element on said supports in said winding groove to form a coil, and means for intermittently operating said supports during the rotation of said head and in timed relation to a predetermined number of revolutions of said head to shift said coil axially from the circumferential path in which it has been wound and to provide an empty winding groove adapted to receive said flexible element for the formation of a second coil.

12. In a coiling machine, a rotatable head, a plurality of supports projecting from the face of said head and arranged in-a circumferential path around the axis of the head, each of said supports having a recess formed therein for collectively defining a winding groove adapted to receive a flexible element, means for rotating said head and winding a predetermined number of winding groove, and means positioned on said head and operated in the same cycle of operation immediately prior to the operation of said projections for severing the flexible element crossing over from said shifted coil to said coil in said winding groove.

13. The method of winding coils comprising the steps of continuously feeding a flexible element to a continuously revolving head, winding a coil on the head, shifting the coil to a second position,

- directing the element from the last convolution 14. The method of winding mm coils '9. flexi-,

' ble element sheathed with a tacky non-metallic material which consists in successively winding the element into coils of a predetermined number of convolutions bound together by said tacky material and completely separating a formed coil from another coil being formed while both coils are on the winding head. v 1

15. The method of winding into coils a flexible element sheathed with a tacky non-metallic material which comprises the steps of successively winding coils connected by the element, severing the connecting element, and discharging the next previously wound coil.

16. The method of continuously forming coils containing a plurality of convolutions of wire covered wire from the coil and forming a second coil and severing the separated strand, and successively discharging the coils.

17. The method of forming coils comprising continuously coiling a flexible element into a pin-- rality of convolutions to form a coil, separating the element from the coil and forming a second coil and severing the separated element and successively discharging the coils after the element has been severed.

18. The method of forming coils comprising continuously coiling the wire into a plurality of convolutions to form a coil, shifting the coil, separating the wire from the coil and forming a second coil, severing the separated wire, shifting the first coil and shifting the last coil into the position of the next preceding 0011 after the element has been severed.

19. The method of winding coils comprising the steps of continuously feeding a flexible element to a continuously revolving head, winding a coil on the head, shifting the coil to a second position while advancing the coil on the head circumferentially in the direction of rotation of the winding head, directing the element fromthe last convolution on the shifted coil to the original winding I PAUL w. LEHMAN. GEORGE F. WHITE. 

